Business: Nothing Bundt Cakes
Address: 2860 Showplace Drive, Naperville
Phone: 630-857-3030
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Owners: Neepa and AJ Mehta
Opening date: Aug. 2, 2013
What does this business sell? “We sell, like the name implies, bundt cakes,” Neepa Mehta said. “We have them in four sizes and ten flavors, at all times. We decorate them for all occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, weddings. We sell candles, really cute gift ware items, too.”
“We also have a lot of good solutions for businesses,” AJ Mehta said. “We do a lot of work with real estate, where we do cakes for closings or house warming type-gifts, holiday parties.”
How many full- and part-time workers do you have? Three full-time and about 21 part-time employees. “They are like family, and most of them have been with me since the store opened,” Neepa said.
What was the impetus for opening the store? “We fell in love with the (Nothing Bundt Cake) store concept when we lived in Texas,” said Neepa, who comes from the Chicago area and still have family here. “And it was my ticket to come back here, when we could open (a franchise) in Naperville.”
What’s the best thing about being in Naperville? “It’s a small town feel, but a big demographic area,” AJ said.
When is your busiest time of year? “Christmas, by far. Family orders and also corporate orders. But all the holidays – Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother’s Day, which is coming up,” AJ said.
What is the most popular thing you sell? “Chocolate chocolate chip cake,” Neepa said. “It is our number one seller by far.”
What is one item you’d urge customers to try? “Our white white chocolate,” Neepa said. “That’s my favorite. When you sample it, you will say, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing!’ People think it’s boring white cake but it’s the best white cake you’ll ever have!”
What is your least favorite thing to do? “The accounting we still have to do!” AJ said. Both he and his wife gave up jobs as CPAs to start this store and open another this summer in the Shorewood-Plainfield area.
What is the best thing about owning your own business? “Just the flexibility I have and working with all the great people,” Neepa said. “That’s the best thing. I get to pick who I work with, and I love them all. I love coming to work every day.”
“Also, I think, you get out of it what you put into it,” AJ said. “You know you’re going to work hard but you are also the ones who benefit from the hard work. Our staff and us benefit.”
What is the biggest downside to owning your business? “It never escapes you,” Neepa said. “You are on vacation and you are still thinking about it. It’s a different kind of stress.”
Tell us about your most memorable customer. “We had a girl come in last weekend, crying and in tears, thinking we were closing down. So her mom brought her in so she could convince her that we aren’t. That smile!” Neepa said. “We also had one lady come in whose grandson had passed away. She bought one of our cakes for her other grandkids and she said, ‘The only thing that will put a smile on their faces is your cake.’ That’s just amazing.”
What is the biggest misconception about your business? “People may not realize how much work is involved in this,” Neepa said. “Everything is done by hand, every bundtlet and bundtini (individual-sized bundt cakes) is scooped by hand, all frosting is done by hand. There are no machines in the back. … In addition to the cakes, we have retail, and that’s what a lot of people don’t realize. We have a lot of retail at the store that you cannot find at other gift shops, (such as) cakes plates, cards, balloons.”
How would you describe your business philosophy? “Treat people how you want to be treated,” Neepa said. “That applies to our employees and our customers, obviously. We definitely try to provide the best customer servicing we possible can, and feel that’s where we stand out.”
“It all starts with the moment the customer walks in, and the moment they walk out with the cake, the wow factor,” AJ said. “That’s our mission statement.”
If you weren’t doing this, what line of work would you be in? “Still chugging away at numbers doing accounting. Probably we’d be CPAs.”
What advice would you give someone about opening a store? “It’s a big commitment,” AJ said. “Both financially and emotionally. You’ve got to have the family support.”
“Don’t give up. It’s really hard at first,” Neepa said.
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What item did you stock that ended up being a dud? “Well, primarily (Nothing Bundt Cake stores) were in the south, where they sell things like aprons and mason jars, and they go well,” Neepa said. “Some of the retail items didn’t sell too well in Chicago. Like the aprons. I still have some from day one when we opened.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.